Transceiving apparatus and data processing system for communication base stations

ABSTRACT

A base station apparatus, methods of receiving and sending data, and a computer readable article of manufacture. A computer implemented method includes the following for receiving and sending data: receiving the data by an RF header module; grouping data received; transferring the grouped data to a data processing apparatus; distributing the grouped data into an uplink sub-channel; merging the distributed data using at least one downlink sub-channel; transferring the merged data to a transceiving apparatus; degrouping the merged data; and sending the merged data by RF header module. A method of receiving data, a method of sending data, and computer readable non-transitory articles of manufacture are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of and claims priority under 35U.S.C. §120 from parent application U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/473,645 filed May 28, 2009, which in turn claims priority under 35U.S.C. §119 from Chinese Patent Application No. 200810108872.4 filed onMay 29, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to a communication base station, and inparticular to a radio frequency communication base station adaptive forantenna arrays, a transceiving apparatus, a data processing system, andmethods of receiving and sending data for the base station.

2. Description of Related Art

Requirements for the next generation mobile communication system haveincreased when compared to today's communication system. The nextgeneration mobile communication system must be able to provide a largervariety of interactive multimedia services, such as movies, games,television broadcasts, on-line transactions and voice services, withhigh speed and high quality via the converged network of wired andwireless infrastructures. Such various multimedia and data servicesrequire a communications base station not only with high throughput, butalso with high computation capability to handle large numbers of streamsor packets simultaneously. At the same time, the base station needs tobe consistent with multiple standards, and to meet the requirements ofvarious application services. Therefore, high computation capability andenough flexibility and scalability are the trend and the challenge forcommunications base stations for the next generation mobile system.

FIG. 1 shows the architecture of today's base station. As shown in FIG.1, the base-band processing system of the traditional base stationincludes a variety of proprietary designs implemented by semiconductorhardware in the form of a DSP (digital signal processor), a FPGA(field-programmable gate array), and an ASIC (application-specificintegrated circuit), which result in different platforms serving fordifferent standards, such as GSM (Global System for Mobilecommunications) and WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access),allowing no flexibility and scalability of the whole system. In FIG. 1,the PHY layer is the physical layer, the MAC layer is the Media AccessControl Layer. Even within one standard, to support different coverageand application features, the hardware platforms must also be different.In order to meet different standards and accommodate other differentapplication characteristics, in most cases, proprietary chips ofdifferent models or quantities are required, thus necessitating theredesigning and redeveloping of the hardware platform and resulting in ahigh cost of time and expense. Hence, in a base station based onproprietary hardware design, the development and management cost forboth hardware and software will be heavy for operators as well as fortelecom equipment manufacturers.

Considering these issues for base stations built on traditionalarchitecture, the idea of open architecture based base stations has beenproposed in recent years. Under the implementation and popularization ofmulti-core technology, the computation performance of IT computingplatforms based on general purpose multi-core processors is beingincreased rapidly. So as to pursue better flexibility and scalability,the industry has started to consider adopting general IT computingplatforms in networking areas, thus replacing the traditionalproprietary design, especially for base stations in mobilecommunications. Accordingly, there are some new implementations using ITservers in base station design. They can use the servers to supportdifferent kinds of standards, e.g., GSM, CDMA, and use the servers tosupport different numbers of sectors or cells.

From another point of view, the concept of an antenna array (a group ofantenna elements) with a base station is widely used in the newgeneration wireless standards, e.g., 802.11n of the 802.11 series,802.16e, TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division MultipleAccess), and LTE (Long Term Evolution). The size of the array willhighly influence the throughput, coverage and system SNR(signal-to-noise ratio) of the base station. For instance, to cover amicro cell, a 2-element antenna array may be enough, but for a macrocell, a 4-element antenna array will be required. Further, differentalgorithms will require different numbers of antenna elements in thearray. For example, 802.11n applying MIMO (multiple-input andmultiple-output) technology will require an antenna array with 2 or 4elements, while TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code DivisionMultiple Access) using smart antenna techniques will need an array withat least 8 elements.

For traditional base station architecture composed of proprietarydesigns, when the size of the antenna array changes, the base bandprocessing platform must be re-designed to accompany the changes of theantenna array. FIG. 2 illustrates the changes carried out to a base bandprocessing platform of a traditional base station accompanying anincrease in size of the antenna array. As shown in FIG. 2( a), theantenna array includes two antennas, the first antenna connected toboard 0 and the second antenna connected to board 1. Accordingly,sub-channel processing hardware modules are needed in the base bandprocessing platform corresponding to the uplink and downlink data ofeach antenna, i.e., an uplink sub-channel hardware module 0 to processthe uplink data of the first antenna, an uplink sub-channel hardwaremodule 1 to process the uplink data of the second antenna, a downlinksub-channel hardware module 0 to process the downlink data of the firstantenna, and a downlink sub-channel hardware module 1 to process thedownlink data of the second antenna. Furthermore, an uplink centralprocessing hardware module and a downlink central processing hardwaremodule are needed in the base band processing platform for the centralmain processing of uplink data and downlink data, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2( b), when the antenna array includes eight antennas,i.e., antenna 0 to 7, not all shown, changes of the base band processingplatform in hardware design must be carried out with respect to theincrease in the number of antennas. Specifically, uplink sub-channelhardware modules and downlink sub-channel hardware modules, i.e., uplinksub-channel hardware modules 2 to 7 and downlink sub-channel hardwaremodules 2 to 7 need to be added to the base band processing platform forantennas 2 to 7. Then, the data of the added sub-channel hardwaremodules need to be collected into the central line boards forprocessing. Thus, it can be seen that for antenna arrays of differentsizes, the base band processing platform needs to be re-designed andchanged to correspond to the changes in the antenna arrays.

Therefore, to fulfill the required flexibility and scalability in baseband processing of base stations, it will be required that the base bandprocessing system must be able to be scaled and to have the flexibilityfor different sizes of antenna arrays. However, with respect to thetraditional base station with proprietary architecture design, or withrespect to new base station designs based on general IT servers, thescalability of antenna arrays cannot be supported using today'stechnology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to improve the flexibility and scalability of the base bandprocessing systems of base stations, there are provided: a base stationadaptive for antenna arrays, a radio frequency header module, atransceiving apparatus, and a data processing system for the basestation, and methods of receiving and sending data for the base station.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided abase station apparatus adaptive for antenna arrays. The base stationincludes:

at least one radio frequency (RF) header module;

at least one data processing apparatus; and

transceiving apparatus for transceiving data between the at least oneradio frequency (RF) header module and the at least one data processingapparatus;

The transceiving apparatus includes:

-   -   an uplink module to group data received by the at least one RF        header module according to grouping configuration information,        and transfer the grouped data to the at least one data        processing apparatus; and    -   a downlink module to degroup the data from the at least one data        processing apparatus according to the grouping configuration        information, and transfer the degrouped data to the at least one        RF header module.        The at least one data processing apparatus includes:    -   at least one uplink sub-channel processing module to process the        uplink data of one sub-channel;    -   a data distributor to distribute grouped data to the at least        one uplink sub-channel processing module;    -   at least one downlink sub-channel processing module to process        the downlink data of one sub-channel; and    -   a data converger to merge the data from each of the at least one        downlink sub-channel processing modules.        The at least one radio frequency (RF) header module includes:    -   at least one antenna and RF channel corresponding to the        antenna.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of receiving and sending data, the method including the stepsof:

-   -   receiving the data by an at least one radio frequency (RF)        header module;    -   grouping the data received by the at least one radio frequency        (RF) header module according to grouping configuration        information;    -   transferring the grouped received data to at least one data        processing apparatus;    -   distributing the grouped received data in each of the at least        one data processing apparatus into at least one uplink        sub-channel according to the data channel from which the data is        received;    -   merging the distributed data in each of the at least one data        processing apparatus using at least one downlink sub-channel;    -   transferring the merged data from the at least one data        processing apparatus to a transceiving apparatus;    -   degrouping the merged data from the at least one data processing        apparatus according to the grouping configuration information;        and    -   sending the merged data by the at least one radio frequency (RF)        header module,    -   where at least one step is carried out using a computer device.    -   According to still another aspect of the present invention,        there is provided a method of receiving data for a base station.        The method includes:    -   receiving the data by an at least one radio frequency (RF)        header module;    -   grouping the data received by at least one radio frequency (RF)        header module according to grouping configuration information;    -   transferring the grouped data to at least one data processing        apparatus; and    -   distributing the grouped data in each of the at least one data        processing apparatus into at least one uplink sub-channel        according to the data channel from which the data is received.    -   According to still another aspect of the present invention,        there is provided a method of sending data for a base station.        The method includes:    -   merging the data of at least one downlink sub-channel in each of        at least one data processing apparatus;    -   transferring the merged data from the at least one data        processing apparatus to a transceiving apparatus;    -   degrouping the merged data from the at least one data processing        apparatus according to grouping configuration information; and    -   sending the merged data by an at least one radio frequency (RF)        header module.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a computer readable article of manufacture tangibly embodyingcomputer readable instructions for executing a computer implementedmethod of sending data for a base station. The method includes:

merging the data of at least one downlink sub-channel in each of atleast one data processing apparatus;

transferring the merged data from the at least one data processingapparatus to a transceiving apparatus;

degrouping the merged data from the at least one data processingapparatus according to grouping configuration information;

sending the merged data by an at least one radio frequency (RF) headermodule.

In each aspect of the present invention, by grouping the data fromantenna arrays according to the grouping configuration information,transmitting the grouped data to the corresponding processing apparatus,and distributing the data into corresponding sub-channels forprocessing, the base band processing system can be adaptive for antennaarrays with different sizes and different standards, thus remarkablyimproving the flexibility of the base station processing system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the architecture of an existing communication basestation;

FIG. 2 illustrates the modifications to a base band processing platformof a traditional base station performed according to an increase in thesize of antenna arrays;

FIG. 3 illustrates the architecture of a communication base stationaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of the transceiving apparatus 20 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates the architecture of a communication base stationaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates the architecture of a communication base stationaccording to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates the flow chart of a method of receiving data for abase station according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates the flow chart of a method of sending data for a basestation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the present invention are described below incombination with the figures.

FIG. 3 illustrates the architecture of a base station according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the basestation of FIG. 3 includes an RF header system 10, a transceivingapparatus 20, a switch module 40 and a data processing system 30. In thebase station, the RF header system 10 is provided to receive uplink datasignal from communication terminals and transmit the data to thetransceiving apparatus 20; and to acquire processed downlink data fromthe transceiving apparatus 20 and transmit the data to the communicationterminals. The transceiving apparatus 20 is linked between the RF headersystem 10 and the data processing system 30, to acquire uplink data fromthe RF header system 10, group the uplink data according to groupingconfiguration information and transmit the grouped data to the dataprocessing system 30; and to acquire processed downlink data from thedata processing system 30, and degroup the downlink data and transmitthe degrouped data to the RF header system 10. The switch module 40 isprovided to switch data between the transceiving apparatus 20 and thedata processing system 30 and inside the data processing system 30. Thedata processing system 30 is provided to perform base band processing tothe uplink data acquired from the transceiving apparatus 20 according tothe grouping configuration information, and to transmit the processeddownlink data to the transceiving apparatus 20 after the base bandprocessing.

In the present embodiment, the RF header system 10 includes 8 RF headermodules, marked by 0 to 7. Only antennas 0 and 7 are shown. Each RFheader module includes an antenna and a data channel corresponding tothe antenna. Specifically, the RF header module 0 includes the antenna 0and an uplink analog channel and a downlink analog channel correspondingto the antenna. The uplink analog channel includes an RF/IF module thatconverts the RF radio frequency signals received from the antenna intoIF intermediate frequency signals, and an analog-to-digital converter NDthat converts analog signals into digital signals. The downlink analogchannel includes a digital-to-analog converter D/A that converts digitalsignals into analog signals, and an RF/IF module that convertsintermediate frequency analog signals into radio frequency signals to besent through antennas. Other RF header modules 1 to 7 include respectiveantennas 1 to 7 and corresponding analog channels. The number ofantennas can be adjusted according to requirements, e.g., m antennas 0to m−1 can be set.

FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of the transceiving apparatus 20 ofFIG. 3. As shown in the figure, the transceiving apparatus 20 includesan uplink module 210 and a downlink module 220, where the uplink module210 is provided to acquire uplink data from the RF header system 10,group the uplink data according to the grouping configurationinformation, and transmit the grouped data to the data processing system30; the downlink module 220 is provided to acquire processed downlinkdata from the data processing system 30, degroup the downlink data, andtransmit the degrouped data to the RF header system 10.

The uplink module 210 further includes an uplink data queue module 212,a data grouper 214 and a frame generator 216.

The uplink data queue module 212 includes a plurality of uplink dataqueues Q0, Q1, to Q7, where the number of queues corresponds to thenumber of data channels of incoming data. In the present embodiment, thenumber of uplink data queues corresponds to the number of data channelsin the RF header system, i.e., the number of antennas. Since theantennas receive RF signals in real time from the terminals, the signalsneed to be buffered first in order to be processed. These data queuescorresponding to the data channels provide buffering for the data in thecorresponding channels. Specifically, the data queues can be implementedthrough the memory cells in the transceiving apparatus. The number ofthe queues and the memory they take can be preset in the transceivingapparatus, or can be automatically set or changed through externalgrouping configuration information, where the external groupingconfiguration information can come from the data processing system 30.

The data grouper 214 is provided as a hardware module in thetransceiving apparatus to group the incoming data. Specifically, in thisembodiment the data grouper 214 groups the incoming data from each dataqueues Q0 to Q7 according to the grouping configuration informationwhich relies on the needed computation resource and the availableresource of each processing apparatus in the data processing system 30,the needed computation resource in turn relies on the number of antennasand the algorithms used. In one embodiment, the grouping configurationinformation is manually set and input to the transceiving apparatus. Inanother embodiment, the grouping configuration information isautomatically generated by the data processing system 30, anddynamically input to the transceiving apparatus. Further, the datagrouper 214 adds synchronization flags into each grouped data stream,and adds path ID into the stream according to the corresponding datachannel through which it flows, for the identification of the data ofeach data channel in future processing. In the embodiment shown in FIG.3, the data grouper 214 groups the data from Q0 to Q7 into two groupsaccording to the grouping configuration information from the dataprocessing system 30, with one group containing data from Q0 to Q5, andthe other group containing data from Q6 and Q7. Specifically, groupinglabels can be added into the grouped data. For example, label G1 isadded into the data in queues Q0 to Q5, showing that they belong to thefirst group; label G2 is added into the data in queues Q6 and Q7,showing that they belong to the second group. The grouping conditionscan be different according to the differences in the data queues and inthe grouping configuration information.

Further, the grouped data flows into the frame generator 216. As anotherconfigurable hardware module in the transceiving apparatus 20, the framegenerator 216 is provided for encapsulating every group of incomingdata. Specifically, the frame generator 216 encapsulates every group ofdata from the data grouper 214 into the frame conforming to a standard,e.g., Ethernet, InfiniBand, so that they can be received and processedby a universal processing apparatus through the switch module 40.

The downlink module 220 further includes a data extractor 226, a datade-grouper 224 and a downlink data queue module 222. The data extractor226 performs the reverse of the frame generator 216 in the uplink module210. It deencapsulates the frames of data and extracts the grouped data.Specifically, the data extractor 226 deencapsulates the frames of thedata coming from the data processing system through the switch module40, according to the applied standard, e.g., Ethernet, InfiniBand, andextracts grouped data from them.

Data de-grouper 224 performs the reverse of the data grouper 216 in theuplink module. It de-groups the downlink data according to the groupingof the uplink data by data grouper 214. Specifically, the datade-grouper 224 receives downlink data from the data extractor 226,synchronizes each group of data according to the synchronization flagsof each group of data, and distributes the data into outgoing queuesaccording to the path IDs marked in the data stream.

The downlink data queue module 222 includes a plurality of downlink dataqueues Q0, Q1 to Q7, with the number of queues corresponding to thenumber of data channels, i.e., the number of antennas. These downlinkdata queues act as buffers for the data in corresponding channels inorder to send the data to the RF header system. Corresponding to theuplink queues, the number of downlink queues and the memory they takecan be manually preset in the transceiving apparatus, or can beautomatically set and changed according to the grouping configurationinformation.

In order to realize the functions of the above the modules, thetransceiving apparatus 20 can be implemented with programmable chipsets,e.g., a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array(FPGA), or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Themodules in the transceiving apparatus 20 can be implemented withindependent or integrated chips in the programmable chipset.

Returning to FIG. 3, the switch module 40 is linked between thetransceiving apparatus 20 and the data processing system 30 forswitching data between the transceiving apparatus 20 and the dataprocessing system 30 and inside the data processing system 30.Specifically, for uplink data, the switch module 40 maps each group ofdata into its corresponding processing apparatus in the data processingsystem 30 according to the data grouping conditions by the transceivingapparatus 20. In this embodiment, the transceiving apparatus 20 groupsthe uplink data into two groups. The switch module 40 routes the firstgroup of data to the first processing apparatus 310 in the dataprocessing system 30, and routes the second group of data to the otherprocessing apparatus 320.

For downlink data, the switch module 40 converges, or merges, thedownlink data coming from different processing apparatus and transmitsthe data to the transceiving apparatus 20. Further, the switch module 40also switches data between different processing apparatuses in the dataprocessing system 30 when data transmission and switching between themis needed. Data communication between the switch module 40 and the dataprocessing system 30 can be implemented through various protocols andstandards, e.g., Ethernet or InfiniBand.

After acquiring uplink data from the transceiving apparatus 20 throughthe switch module 40, the data processing system 30 carries out baseband processing of the acquired uplink data according to the groupingconfiguration information, and transmits the downlink data after baseband processing to the transceiving apparatus 20 through the switchmodule 40. As shown in the figure, the data processing system 30includes multiple data processing apparatus, i.e., processing apparatus310, 320, 330 and 340. Each processing apparatus is a universalprocessing apparatus that can be independent, possibly usingindependently running line boards, PCs or servers, or can be implementedby at least one blade in a blade server, as long as the processingapparatus can independently carry out universal computations and caninterconnect to carry out collaborated computation.

The processing apparatus 310 includes a data distributer 312 and aplurality of uplink sub-channel processing modules UP0 to UP5. The datadistributer 312 receives stream data from the transceiving apparatus 20through the switch module 40, and distributes the data intocorresponding uplink sub-channel processing modules according to thepath IDs of the stream data. In the present embodiment, the datadistributer 312 receives the data corresponding to antennas 0 to 5 andfurther corresponding to queues Q0 to Q5 from the transceiving apparatus20 through the switch module 40, and distributes the data into uplinksub-channel processing modules UP0 to UP5 according to the path IDs ofthe data. The uplink sub-channel processing modules UP0 to UP5 areprovided to perform sub-channel processing for the uplink data in eachsub-channel. In the present embodiment, the processing performed inuplink sub-channel processing modules is related to the standards,algorithms, and other characteristics used by the system, e.g.,synchronization processing, or Orthogonal Frequency-Division MultipleAccess (OFDMA) processing.

The processing apparatus 320 includes a data distributer 322, uplinksub-channel processing modules UP6 to UP7, and an uplink main processingmodule UMP. The data distributer 322 receives the data corresponding toantennas 6 and 7, and further corresponding to queues Q6 and Q7 from thetransceiving apparatus 20 through the switch module 40, and distributesthe data into corresponding uplink sub-channel processing modules UP6and UP7 according to the path IDs of the data. The uplink sub-channelprocessing module UP6 and UP7 perform sub-channel processing for theuplink data distributed to them. The uplink main processing module UMPis provided to perform main processing for the uplink data. In thepresent embodiment, the data coming from the uplink sub-channelprocessing modules UP0 to UP5 in the processing apparatus 310 istransmitted into the processing apparatus 320 through the switch module40, and flows into the main processing module UMP together with the datafrom the uplink sub-channel processing module UP6 and UP7 for uplinkmain processing which includes spatial filtering, STBC, space-time blockcoding, channel estimation, demodulation and decoding.

Similarly, the processing apparatus 330 includes a data converger 332and downlink sub-channel processing modules DP0 to DP5. The downlinksub-channel processing modules DP0 to DP5 perform downlink sub-channelprocessing for the downlink data, including OFDMA, OrthogonalFrequency-Division Multiple Access, and shaping filtering. The dataconverger 332 is provided to converge, or merge, the data in each of thedownlink sub-channel processing modules DP0 to DP5, and transmit thedata to the transceiving apparatus 20 through the switch module 40.

The processing apparatus 340 includes a data converger 342, downlinksub-channel processing modules DP6 and DP7, and a downlink mainprocessing module DMP. The data converger 342 is provided to convergethe data processed by the downlink sub-channel processing modules DP6and DP7. The downlink main processing module DMP is provided to performdownlink main processing on the downlink data. The downlink mainprocessing includes beamforming, modulation and coding. In the presentembodiment, the downlink main processing module DMP performs downlinkmain processing for data in all the data channels. Then, the data in twoof the data channels are treated with downlink sub-channel processing inthe downlink sub-channel processing modules DP6 and DP7 in theprocessing apparatus 340, converged by the data converger 342 andtransmitted to the transceiving apparatus 20 through the switch module40. The data in the other data channels are transmitted to theprocessing apparatus 330 through the switch module 40, treated withdownlink sub-channel processing in the downlink sub-channels processingmodules DP0 to DP5 of the processing apparatus 330, converged by thedata converger 332 and then transmitted to the transceiving apparatus 20through the switch module 40.

The data distributers, data convergers, uplink sub-channel processingmodules, downlink sub-channel processing modules, uplink main processingmodule and downlink main processing module are all implemented by thesoftware modules in the processing apparatus.

It can be seen that the distribution of the uplink and downlinksub-channel processing modules among different processing apparatuscorresponds to the grouping of data by the transceiving apparatus 20.Specifically, the transceiving apparatus 20 groups the data queues Q0 toQ7 into two groups according to the grouping configuration information;data in Q0 to Q5 is in the first group, and data in Q6 and Q7 is in thesecond group. The data in the first group are transmitted to theprocessing apparatus 310 and processed with uplink sub-channelprocessing in the corresponding uplink sub-channel processing modulesUP0 to UP5. The data in the second group are transmitted to theprocessing apparatus 320, and respectively treated with sub-channelprocessing in the corresponding sub-channel processing modules UP6 andUP7.

Similarly, the downlink data are also grouped into two groups, eachbeing treated with sub-channel processing in corresponding downlinksub-channel processing modules in processing apparatuses 330 and 340.Thus, it can be seen that the distribution of uplink and downlinksub-channel processing modules corresponds to the grouping of data, andfurther relies on the grouping configuration information.

As described above, the grouping configuration information relies on thecomputation resource needed and the available resource of eachprocessing apparatus in the data processing system 30; the computationresource needed further relies on the number of antennas and algorithms.In one embodiment, the grouping configuration information is preset,i.e., the grouping to be performed and the loading of correspondingsoftware modules in the processing apparatus according to the groupingare decided in advance. In another embodiment, the groupingconfiguration information is computed by an external computationapparatus, not shown, according to the resource needed and the availableresource of each processing apparatus, and is transmitted to thetransceiving apparatus 20 and the data processing system 30.

In the embodiment shown in the figure, the grouping configurationinformation is automatically generated by the data processing system 30,and dynamically input to the transceiving apparatus 20. At the sametime, the sub-channel processing modules in the data processing system30 are also distributed and configured through the groupingconfiguration information.

In the present embodiment, the processing apparatus 310 further includesa configure manager 315. The configure manager 315 is implemented bysoftware modules to generate the grouping configuration information, andto generate, configure, and manage other modules in the processingapparatus. Specifically, the configure manager 315 includes a resourceestimator 50, a module generator 52 and a module reconfigurer 54. Theresource estimator 50 is provided to estimate the needed computationresource and the available resource in each processing apparatus, and toaccordingly generate the grouping configuration information. The modulegenerator 52 is provided to generate needed modules in the processingapparatus according to the grouping configuration information generatedby the resource estimator 50. The module reconfigurer, or moduleconfigure, 54 is provided to configure the parameters of the modules inthe processing apparatus. Other processing apparatus 320, 330, 340 eachinclude their configure managers 325, 335 and 345, respectively. Whenthe data processing system 30 includes a plurality of configuremanagers, one of them, e.g., the configure manager 315 can be set as themain configure manager.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the resource estimator 50 inthe configure manager 315 estimates the computation resource needed forprocessing the data transmitted by the antennas according to the numberof antennas, i.e., antennas 0 to 7, and the standards and algorithms theantennas are based on, and estimates the available computation resourcein each processing apparatus according to the performance, resourceoccupation status and the like of the processing apparatus. Based on theestimation of the needed and available resource, it is found that in thecase of the present embodiment, both the uplink and downlink data needto be divided into two groups. The data corresponding to antennas 0 to 5is in one group, and the data corresponding to antennas 6 and 7 is inthe other group. The two groups of uplink data and two groups ofdownlink data need to be processed respectively in four processingapparatus. Such grouping configuration information is transmitted to thetransceiving apparatus 20 as its basis for grouping the data.

According to the grouping configuration information, the modulegenerator 52 generates uplink sub-channel processing modules UP0 to UP5in the processing apparatus 310 corresponding to the first group ofuplink data, and generates a data distributer 312 to distribute theuplink data into these uplink sub-channel processing modules. The mainconfigure manager 315 informs other configure managers 325, 335, and 345of the configure management information, enabling the module generatorsin these configure managers to generate needed modules in theirrespective processing apparatus according to the configure managementinformation. The communication between the configure managers can beimplemented through various protocols and interfaces, e.g., Ethernetinterface protocol, CPU BUS interface, and PCI interface.

The module reconfigurer 54 is provided to configure the parameters ofthe generated modules. Specifically, in the uplink and downlink mainprocessing modules, many algorithms and parameters, e.g., special filterand beamforming algorithms for smart antennas, STBC coding algorithm forMIMO antennas, are sensitive to the size of antenna arrays.Consequently, the parameters and data structure of these algorithmsrelated to the antenna arrays should be configured according to theinformation of the antennas in the RF header system.

As can be seen from the descriptions above, by using the configuremanager, it is possible to automatically calculate the needed resourceand available resource and thus acquire the grouping configurationinformation, and to generate the needed modules in each of theprocessing apparatus according to the grouping configurationinformation. It is thereby possible to achieve a proper distribution andconfiguration of the modules among the processing apparatus and tofurther improve the flexibility of the system.

In the base station shown in FIG. 3, the transceiving apparatus 20 isplaced between the RF header system 10 and the data processing system 30as an independent hardware component. However, the transceivingapparatus 20 can also be integrated into the RF header system to act asa new RF header system. Or the transceiving apparatus 20 can beintegrated into the data processing system to act as a new dataprocessing system. Also, the switch module 40 can also be integratedwith the transceiving apparatus 20.

FIG. 5 illustrates the architecture of a base station according toanother embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the modules andapparatus similar to those in FIG. 3 are indicated by the same numbers.As shown in FIG. 5, the base station includes an RF header system 10, atransceiving apparatus 20, and a data processing system 30. Among them,the RF header system includes 4 antennas marked by 0 to 3 and thecorresponding data channels. The transceiving apparatus 20 is identicalwith that in FIG. 4. However, according to the grouping configurationinformation, the transceiving apparatus 20 groups the incoming data intoonly one group, i.e., the data in all the data channels are transmittedinto the same processing apparatus or processor 310, in the dataprocessing system 30. The data processing system 30 uses only oneprocessing apparatus 310 to perform base band processing.

The processing apparatus 310 includes a data distributer 312, uplinksub-channel processing modules UP0 to UP3, an uplink main processingmodule UMP, a data converger 314, downlink sub-channel processingmodules DP0 to DP3, and a downlink main processing module DMP. Thefunctions of these modules are the same as those of the correspondingmodules in FIG. 3, but in the present embodiment, according to thegrouping configuration information, they are allocated into the sameprocessing apparatus 310. As described above, the grouping configurationinformation can be preset, externally computed, or automaticallygenerated by the data processing system. In the present embodiment, thegrouping configuration information is generated by the configure manager315 in the processing apparatus 310. The configure manager 315 is thesame as that in FIG. 3 in structure, function, and implementation.

When only one processing apparatus is employed, the switch module 40 inFIG. 3 is not needed for data switching. The transceiving apparatus 20directly communicates with the processing apparatus 310 in the dataprocessing system.

FIG. 6 illustrates the architecture of a base station according toanother embodiment of the present invention. This base station alsoincludes an RF header system 10, a transceiving apparatus 20 and a dataprocessing system 30. Among them, the RF header system 10 includes 4antennas, where the antennas 0 and 1 belong to array 1, supportingWorldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax); and antennas 2and 3 belong to array 2, supporting the Long Term Evolution (LTE)standard. For such multiple communication standards or multi-standardantenna arrays, when the transceiving apparatus 20 performs grouping ofthe data in each data channel according to the grouping configurationinformation, not only does it need to add channel ID (or path ID) to thedata channels, but it also needs to add the ID of the antenna array fromwhich the data comes. In the present embodiment, according to thegrouping configuration information, data in all the data channels areput into one group, and processed by a single processing apparatus,similar to processor 310 of FIG. 5, in the data processing system 30.

In order to accommodate multi-standard antenna arrays, according to thegrouping configuration information, the processing apparatus includes adata distributer 312, uplink sub-channel processing modules UP0 to UP3,uplink main processing modules UMP1 and UMP2, a data converger 314,downlink sub-channel processing modules DP0 to DP3, and downlink mainprocessing modules DMP2 and DMP2. Among them, the uplink sub-channelprocessing modules UP0 and UP1 are provided to perform uplinksub-channel processing for WiMax for the data from antennas 0 and 1, andUP2 and UP3 are provided to perform uplink sub-channel processing forLTE for the data from antennas 2 and 3. According to the array IDsmarked in the data sub-channels, the data after uplink sub-channelprocessing flow respectively into the uplink main processing modulesUMP1 and UMP2 for main processing. The uplink main processing moduleUMP1 is configured to execute the uplink main processing for WiMax, andthe uplink main processing module UMP2 is configured to execute theuplink main processing for LTE. The downlink sub-channel processingmodules DP0 to DP3 and the downlink main processing modules DMP1 andDMP2 are configured corresponding to the uplink processingconfigurations.

Further, in the present embodiment, the grouping configurationinformation can also be generated by the configure manager 315 in theprocessing apparatus. The structure, function and implementation of theconfigure manager 315 are similar to those described above.

It can be seen from the embodiments described above that, through thegrouping of the data from antenna arrays according to the groupingconfiguration information, transmitting the grouped data to thecorresponding processing apparatuses, and distributing the data to thecorresponding sub-channels for processing, the base band processingsystem can be adaptive for antenna arrays with different sizes andexecuting different standards, without re-designing the hardware.Instead, the base band processing system only needs to distribute andconfigure the needed software modules according to the groupingconfiguration information. By setting the configure manager in theprocessing system, the base band processing system can automaticallygenerate the grouping configuration information, and thus more flexiblyaccommodate the changes in antenna arrays. Those skilled in the art canunderstand that the embodiments described above have many modifications.According to the grouping configuration information, the transceivingapparatus can perform various groupings of the data, and also, there arevarious module distributing schemes in the data processing system.

For example, with the increasing size of the antenna arrays, the datacan be grouped into ten groups or dozens of groups or more. Thus, dozensor more processing apparatus might otherwise be needed in the dataprocessing system for base band processing. Some of the processingapparatus can perform only the distribution and uplink sub-channelprocessing for some of the data, some can only perform uplink mainprocessing, and some can simultaneously perform multiple processing.Thus, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments describedabove in detail, but can be extended to all the modifications that arepossible for those skilled in the art under the teaching of the presentdescription.

FIG. 7 illustrates the flow chart for the method of receiving data for abase station. As shown in the figure, first, in step 70, grouping isperformed for the data received by at least one RF header moduleaccording to the grouping configuration information, which relies on theneeded computation resource and the resource available in the system. Inan embodiment, the grouping configuration information is preset. Inanother embodiment, the grouping configuration information isautomatically generated by the base band processing system of the basestation. More specifically, a configuration managing apparatus in thebase band processing system is provided to estimate the needed resourceand resource available in the system, and generate the groupingconfiguration information according to the estimation result. Further,the step of grouping the data received by at least one RF header moduleincludes: buffering the received data corresponding to the data channelsin the RF header module, grouping the buffered data according to thegrouping configuration information; and encapsulating the grouped data.

Then in step 72, the grouped data is transmitted to at least one dataprocessing apparatus. Specifically, in one embodiment, the data are putinto one group, and directly transmitted to a data processing apparatus.In another embodiment, the data are grouped into a plurality of groups,and transmitted to a plurality of data processing apparatus through aswitching apparatus, each of the plurality of data processing apparatusreceiving one of the plurality of groups of data.

Then, proceeding to step 74, in each of the at least one data processingapparatus, the grouped data are distributed into at least one uplinksub-channel according to the data channel of the received data.Specifically, in one embodiment, in each of the data processingapparatus that receives grouped data, a data distributer is provided todistribute the grouped data into at least one uplink sub-channelprocessing module, according to the data channel of the data, for uplinksub-channel processing.

Corresponding to the method of receiving data for a base station, alsoprovided in the present invention is a method of sending data for thebase station. FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of the method of sendingdata for the base station according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in the figure, first in step 80, in each of at leastone data processing apparatus, data in at least one downlink sub-channelis converged. Specifically, in one embodiment, in each of the processingapparatuses that performs downlink sub-channel processing, the data ineach downlink sub-channel is converged by a data converger. When thedata is converged, the path ID of each sub-path is retained for futureidentification.

Then, in step 82, the converged data from at least one data processingapparatus is transferred to the transceiving apparatus. Specifically, inone embodiment, the data in each data channel is processed for downlinksub-path processing in one processing apparatus, and directlytransferred to the transceiving apparatus after being converged. Inanother embodiment, multiple groups of data are processed for downlinksub-path processing in multiple data processing apparatus, andtransferred to the transceiving apparatus through a switching apparatusafter being converged in each data processing apparatus.

Then, advancing to step 84, in the transceiving apparatus the convergeddata from at least one data processing apparatus are degrouped accordingto the grouping configuration information. Further, the step ofdegrouping data includes: deencapsulating the data, extracting thegrouped data; degrouping the data according to the groupingconfiguration information; and buffering the degrouped datacorresponding to the respective data sub-channel. Further, buffered datais finally transmitted to at least one RF header module. Those skilledin the art can understand that, the software modules and methods can beimplemented by computer executable commands and/or by being included inthe controlling codes of the processing apparatus.

While the present invention has been described with reference to whatare presently considered to be the preferred embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. The scope of the following claims is to beaccorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and equivalent structures and functions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for receiving and sending data, themethod comprising the steps of: receiving the data by an at least oneradio frequency (RF) header module; grouping the data received by the atleast one radio frequency (RF) header module according to groupingconfiguration information; transferring the grouped received data to atleast one data processing apparatus; distributing the grouped receiveddata in each of the at least one data processing apparatus into at leastone uplink sub-channel according to the data channel from which the datais received; merging the distributed data in each of the at least onedata processing apparatus using at least one downlink sub-channel;transferring the merged data from the at least one data processingapparatus to a transceiving apparatus; degrouping the merged data fromthe at least one data processing apparatus according to the groupingconfiguration information; and sending the merged data by the at leastone radio frequency (RF) header module, wherein at least one step iscarried out using a computer device.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the grouping configuration information is automaticallygenerated by a base band processing system.
 3. The method according toclaim 2 further comprising the step of: estimating both the neededresources necessary by the system to carry out the generation and theavailable resources in the system, wherein the automatic generation isaccording to the estimation result.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein the grouping step further comprises the steps of: buffering thereceived data corresponding to data channels in the RF header module;grouping the buffered data according to the grouping configurationinformation; and encapsulating the grouped data.
 5. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the grouping step groups the data into a pluralityof groups, and wherein the transferring of the grouped data steptransfers the data using a switching apparatus such that each of the atleast one data processing apparatuses receives one of the plurality ofgroups of data.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the at leastone data processing apparatus is a multiple data processing apparatusand the merging step merges the plurality of groups of data in the atleast one multiple data processing apparatus, and wherein thetransferring of the merged data step transfers the plurality of groupsof data using a switching apparatus.
 7. The method according to claim 6,wherein, when the merging step occurs, the path ID of each sub-path ofeach sub-link is retained for future identification.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the degrouping step comprises the stepsof: deencapsulating and extracting the grouped data; degrouping the dataaccording to the grouping configuration information; and buffering thedegrouped data of the at least one downlink sub-channel.
 9. Anon-transitory article of manufacture tangibly embodying computerreadable instructions which when implemented cause a computer to carryout the steps according to claim
 1. 10. A computer implemented method ofreceiving data, the method comprising the steps of: receiving the databy an at least one radio frequency (RF) header module; grouping the datareceived by the at least one radio frequency (RF) header moduleaccording to grouping configuration information; transferring thegrouped received data to at least one data processing apparatus; anddistributing the grouped received data in each of the at least one dataprocessing apparatus into at least one uplink sub-channel according tothe data channel from which the data is received, wherein at least onestep is carried out using a computer device.
 11. The method according toclaim 10, wherein the grouping configuration information isautomatically generated by a base band processing system.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 11 further comprising the step of: estimating boththe needed resources necessary by the system to carry out the generationand the available resources in the system, wherein the automaticgeneration is according to the estimation result.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the grouping step groups the data into aplurality of groups, and wherein the transferring of the grouped datastep transfers the data using a switching apparatus such that each ofthe at least one data processing apparatuses receives one of theplurality of groups of data.
 14. The method according to claim 10,wherein the grouping step comprises the steps of: buffering the data ofthe at least one uplink sub-channel to produce buffered data; groupingthe buffered data according to the grouping configuration information;and encapsulating the grouped data in frames.
 15. A non-transitoryarticle of manufacture tangibly embodying computer readable instructionswhich when implemented cause a computer to carry out the steps accordingto claim
 10. 16. A computer implemented method of sending data, themethod comprising the steps of: merging the data of at least onedownlink sub-channel in each of at least one data processing apparatus;transferring the merged data from the at least one data processingapparatus to a transceiving apparatus; degrouping the merged data fromthe at least one data processing apparatus according to groupingconfiguration information; and sending the merged data by an at leastone radio frequency (RF) header module, wherein at least one step iscarried out using a computer device.
 17. The method according to claim16, wherein degrouping step comprises the steps of: deencapsulating andextracting the grouped data; degrouping the data according to thegrouping configuration information; and buffering the degrouped data ofthe at least one downlink sub-channel.
 18. The method according to claim16, wherein the at least one data processing apparatus is a multipledata processing apparatus, wherein the data in the data processing unitis in a plurality of groups of data, wherein the merging step merges theplurality of groups of data in the at least one multiple data processingapparatus, and wherein the transferring of the merged data steptransfers the plurality of groups of data using a switching apparatus.19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the path ID of eachsub-path of each sub-link is retained for future identification duringthe merging step.
 20. A non-transitory article of manufacture tangiblyembodying computer readable instructions which when implemented cause acomputer to carry out the steps according to claim 16.